East Union completes sweep of Ceres schools

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CERES — East Union completed a sweep of Ceres Unified schools with a 29-15 victory over Ceres High Friday night at Bulldog Stadium.

The Lancers battled back from a 14-point, fourth-quarter deficit and beat Central Valley 27-21 on Oct. 23.

“We’re 2-0 on this field,” East Union head coach Mike James said. “That’s a nice feeling.”

The Lancers improved to 4-5 on the year and 2-4 in the Valley Oak League standings.The Bulldogs dropped to 0-9 overall and 0-6 in conference play.East Union was picked to finish behind Ceres High and Central Valley in the Bulletin’s preseason media poll.

“A lot of people expected us to be at the bottom,” Lancers’ quarterback Dennis Johnson said. “That definitely gave us motivation. We were hungry this year.”

Johnson had a monster game against the Bulldogs, tallying three rushing touchdowns and one passing. He missed the Central Valley contest with an ankle injury.

Receiver T.J. Brown caught seven passes for 113 yards with one TD.

“I give all the credit to my offensive line,” said Johnson, who finished 13 of 22 for 195 yards. “They gave me time to throw and were blocking for me.”

East Union’s defense settled down after Ceres High put together an impressive 10-play, 53-yard scoring drive in the first quarter.

The Lancers recovered three fumbles and intercepted two passes the rest of the way. Brown and Robert Vaughn both had one pick.

Johnson threw a 60-yard TD pass to Brown and scored on a 4-yard run in the second quarter as East Union built a 15-6 lead in the opening half.

“We didn’t underestimate them because they haven’t won a game,” Dennis said. “We gave everything we got.”

Dennis’ final two touchdowns (4, 1) came in the fourth quarter. His second score extended the Lancers’ lead to 29-6 with 9:07 to play.

East Union closes out the VOL season against heavily-favored Manteca (6-3, 4-2) next Friday.

“A win over them would mean a lot,” said Johnson, whose team would finish 5-5 on the year if it pulled off the upset. “That’s our biggest rival.”

Sonora 41, Weston Ranch 14

SONORA — Sonora High wasted little time jumping out on the visiting Cougars, outscoring Weston Ranch 41-0 at the half.

“We could have hung our heads and not played the second half,” Weston Ranch head coach Michael Hale said. “But our kids didn’t give up and they fought hard over the final two periods.”

Weston Ranch (2-3, 3-6 overall) got on the scoreboard early in the third quarter when Chris Contreas scored on a 46-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Embry Allen. Allen would later hook up with Jason Steele for a 31-yard touchdown pass.

Next Friday, the Cougars will make the short trek to Manteca to take on Sierra High in the VOL finale. The Timberwolves are coming off a huge 44-42 win over the Oakdale Mustangs and will be looking to solidify their league championship hopes.

“I told our team that we will have a chance to play spoiler for somebody,” Hale said of his squad’s final game. “There is nothing like having an opportunity to shake up the VOL and cause some chaos.

“Hopefully they don’t take us too lightly and we’re able to try and give them the game I think we’re capable of giving.”